Inclement weather has slowed early-voter turnout for a special election in the Bryant School District to build two new schools and expand others.
As of Friday, 446 voters had gone to the polls since Tuesday, County Clerk Doug Curtis said, adding that he had expected about 1,600 voters in that time.
“For special school elections, if we end up voting 3,000 people, that would be a fantastic election,” he said. “Of course, the weather is going to play a big factor in it. With what we’ve got right now, we won’t hit that.”
The Bryant School District hopes voters approve an increase of 4.7 mills, which would put the district level with neighboring Benton School District’s 41.9 mills. The Bryant district’s current millage is 37.2 mills - the lowest of the four school districts in Saline County.
A mill is a tenth of a cent. The millage increase would cost an owner of a $100,000 house an additional $94 a year. One mill generates about $650,000 per year for the district.
The money from the proposed increase would help pay for a new elementary and a new middle school, additions to Collegeville and Davis elementaries and what is currently Bryant Middle School, and district-wide technology upgrades. The district also plans to expand fine-arts facilities at the high school and to build a physical-education facility there.
District officials have said the millage increase is necessary to accommodate a growing student population. But some who oppose the proposal say the district should explore other options, including trimming budgets, to address the climbing enrollment.
Nearly 250 new students enroll in the district each year, district spokesman Devin Sherrill said, and officials project about 10,737 students by the 2017-18 school year. The district, she said, doesn’t have enough classroom space to handle the growth.
But Ed Hairston, chairman of the Saline County Tea Party, argued the millage increase was unnecessary.
“We think we’re taxed enough already,” he said, adding that part of the group met recently to discuss the special election. “I don’t understand why they need it. If they’ve got a growing population, they’ve got a growing tax base.”
Government agencies - including school districts - should have to tighten their belts just like every other American, he said.
Bryant resident Ella Alley, a member of the Tea Party, said the district could accommodate more students with “more economical buildings.”
But cutting the budget and letting growth produce more revenue isn’t enough, district officials said.
“With our average growth of 250 students per year, we need to build an elementary school every 2.5 years just to keep up with the growth,” Sherrill said, acknowledging that the tax base increases, too. “Assessed value on property will increase over time, but we need facilities now. It will take too many years to see the increase in funds through assessed value to address our needs.”
Sherrill added that population growth doesn’t necessarily translate into revenue growth. School taxes come from property, not from the number of people in a family.
The district, she said, wouldn’t be able to provide students with the necessary facilities and educational resources if officials reduced the budget. The district sets aside money each year for updates and construction projects, but it’s not enough to keep up, Sherrill said.
“We have proven to be good stewards of our taxpayers’ money,” she said. “In the 2009 millage, we accomplished our goals of funding the new high school building and district-wide improvements. Above and beyond, we were able to build Hill Farm Elementary and fund additions to Salem and Springhill elementary schools.”
If the millage passes, the Arkansas Department of Education’s Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation Division will give the district $19 million for the projects.
The increase also would facilitate the restructuring of the schools’ grade levels, with the new middle school and Bethel Middle School serving only sixth- and seventh-graders. The district would then change Bryant Middle School to an eighth- and ninth-grade campus, and Bryant High School would subsequently serve 10th through 12th grades.
If the increase fails, the Education Department’s Facilities Commission will set a conference with the superintendent and the School Board president to determine whether any of the district’s facilities need immediate repair, space or growth. If the commission finds inadequate facilities, the district must set a new special-election date and ask voters again for a millage increase.
The district has 90 days after an inadequate-facilities notice to set the election date or face a potential “facilities distress” designation and subsequently a slew of sanctions, according to the commission.
District officials have said they plan to ask voters next year for another millage increase if Tuesday’s proposal fails.
If that second attempt fails, the district said it will lose $19 million in state partnership funding. The state Education Department would then meet with district leaders to determine facility priorities and what budget adjustments must be made.
Early voting continues Monday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Vote Here Center at 221 N. Main St. in Benton. Ten locations will be open for Tuesday’s election. Polls are open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Forecasters expect the inclement weather to continue into early this week, and Curtis said that will likely affect turnout on Election Day. Officials can’t reschedule the date but are arranging for Saline County sheriff’s deputies, police and firefighters to help pick up poll workers who may not be able to get to the voting site.
Arkansas, Pages 15 on 02/09/2014